CBM Aggregates is facing strong opposition to its application to expand its current gravel pit north of Hillsburgh.
At a March 25 public meeting at the Erin council chamber, CBM representatives, the county planning department, town council and area residents had a chance to express opinions surrounding the proposed pit expansion.
The current zoning amendment was first sought in 2012, but the company put it on hold to pursue another application to allow for mining below the water table at the pit.
County planner Mark Van Patter explained it will take four applications for the expansion to happen. Amendments will need to occur on the county and Town of Erin official plans, the town will have to approve the rezoning application after the county accepts those amendments, and then the company will have to apply for an aggregate licence with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, said Van Patter.
CBM, a division of St. Marys Cement Group, is asking to expand the pit by 153 acres (of which extraction will take place on 123 acres) onto prime agricultural land and to a wooded area designated as green lands on the county and Erin official plans. The current pit is on secondary agricultural land.
In terms of the town rezoning bylaw, the proposed area is zoned agricultural A, and if approved, the town will have to agree to rezone the area to extractive industrial, Van Patter said.
The current licence is for the removal of 750,000 tonnes of aggregate a year and CBM is asking for approval to remove one million tonnes a year.
Steve May, a CBM St. Marys representative, said despite the increase in tonnage the company anticipates little change to the amount of traffic.
“The entrance is going to stay relatively the same and the volumes going out are going to be very comparable to what we have through the facility now,” May said. “It will expand our operations 25 to 30 years is our expectation.”
Almost every seat in the council chamber was full. First to speak was Joe Spiteri, who questioned how the truck traffic could remain the same when the volume of aggregate mined could increase by 250,000 tonnes. Spiteri also asked if fill would be used for proposed rehabilitation plans and what progressive rehabilitation is in place.
May said the increase in tonnage is proposed so the company will be better able to make bids for bigger projects.
“We don’t expect our tonnage to increase significantly, our sales have been pretty consistent around 400,000 tonnes per year for the past four to six years at this time,” he said. “So we don’t expect a major up and down, but the tonnage increase is for business flexibility.”
May also said that imported fill was not planned to be used at this site. Councillor Jeff Duncan asked that the company include a no-fill section in its site plan before the approval process moves forward so that in years to come all parties will be aware of the agreement.
May said the ongoing rehabilitation includes the creation of a grassed slope on the west side of the property.
“The interim rehabilitation is generally to stabilize the slope and the forest will be planted at a time when we’re finished at a certain area and we can complete it and do it in a systematic fashion,” he said.
Agricultural fields on top of the slope will be rehabilitated after the completion of the area.
Resident Neofitos Vritsios asked for a new traffic study to be completed during the high-traffic summer months before deciding if there will be an increase in traffic.
“We live right in front and there’s a lot of traffic and I don’t see anybody following the speed limits,” he said.
Daniella Dimatteo is a business owner on the main street in Hillsburgh and she agrees that traffic is a huge problem.
“When your customers come to you and say that they don’t even want to get out of their vehicle because they’re afraid of being pummeled by a truck, that really affects a small business,” she said.
Dimatteo also said truck traffic and speed is a concern for children going to school because the drivers move too fast and do not have any concern for pedestrians.
May responded saying, “The traffic studies have indicated that they were comfortable with [the trucks].” However, he urged citizens to report drivers they see who are speeding or being aggressive so the appropriate actions can be taken.
Duncan suggested implementing a community safety zone where speed fines are doubled by the school along the main street of Hillsburgh. He asked that St. Marys contribute to the signs and administration costs of the process. He also asked if it would be possible to have a process to turn away drivers who have had an infraction, to make it clear that they aren’t welcome in Erin.
“When they have to call [their boss] and say, ‘Sorry can’t get the load there because I got a pass and St. Marys won’t let me out of the pit with the material’ that is going to be more of an enforcement record and tool that would encourage the rest of the industry to basically behave themselves,” Duncan said.
Other town citizens were concerned the property values of their houses would decrease with the expansion of the pit as well as their quality of life and water.
Duncan raised additional concerns about the municipality not receiving enough tax reward for having aggregate sites within its boarders. He said the gravel industry has a talent for assessing only the working area rather than the entire pit for taxation purposes.
“We’re the host municipality for critical infrastructure and that’s a resource that we’re blessed and cursed with having, and we’re not receiving our fair share,” he said.
“We’re looking for more from you.”
He challenged St. Marys to create an Erin Community Fund, which would be a fund for Erin to use as it sees fit.
Councillor Matt Sammut requested reports from pits with a similar structure to see how they have fared mining below the water table. He also suggested getting Oceans and Fisheries Canada involved to ensure the additional mining will not affect the water.
Sammut also pointed out the pit is not new, just an expansion, and should not be treated as a new entity.
Councillor Rob Smith’s main concern was studies are out of date because legislation has changed since 2012. Most of the reports cited were completed before CBM put a hold on its proposal in 2012.
Mayor Allan Alls said, “Folks, this is democracy at the best in the sense that at this level we hear from you, the people who are most concerned and we’re the most affected; we meet you on the street. So rest assured we will have to balance this out for what it’s worth and we’ll try to do our best to make the decision.”
May said CBM plans to respond in writing to concerned citizens within a month.
“It’s time for the council to start standing up and not be pushed around,” said resident Gary Cox.
